Our Story

Like any crazy story, the journey of this church community has been full of incredible moments. The story began in 2010 when Justin and Chrisy Kendrick were launched by their home church, Frontline Christian Church, to begin City Church. As a small team started praying and planning, we knew that God was up to something amazing.

Our first public gathering was held on Easter Sunday, 2011 at Toad's Place in downtown New Haven, Connecticut. We never expected the type of response that we experienced. As a small group of us prayed, asking God to touch the city with His love, people from all walks of life began to filter in. Yale students joined with single moms, and elderly grandparents stood beside high school students as everyone gathered to worship Jesus on Easter. Toad’s Place, the local temple to the god's of rock and roll, was transformed into a sanctuary of worship to the God of the universe. And in that moment, a dream began to take shape.

News Channel 8 ran a story about our meeting that night on the news and the New Haven Register reported the service the next morning in the paper. From there, the story took flight as CNN, USA Today, and many others shared about our Easter Service at Toad's. Thousands of people saw what Jesus was doing through this tiny church plant, and the name of Jesus was magnified across the country. Through that first meeting, God gave the team at City Church a glimpse of what He plans to do in the days and years to come.

In the summer of 2011, City Church hosted “I Heart New Haven Day” on the New Haven green and saw over 1,400 people attend. Once again, the small church launch team stood back in awe of God. Thousands of dollars were donated to local charities and the generosity of Christ was demonstrated in the heart of the city.

City Church launched weekly gatherings on September 18, 2011. Since the launch, the stories and testimonies are too numerous to recount. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday today and forever and the growing church family at City Church is experiencing his grace day after day and week after week.